Seduced by the Senpai-Squealer
by The Tox
Summary: Rin's feelings towards his loud-mouthed and pushy kouhai have slowly gotten warmer, but when their relationship is shaken by the visible elephant in the room he has to take drastic measures. Rin/Nitori.


_Spoilers/Mentions of the Drama CD._

* * *

The kid wasn't that dumb. His obnoxious wailing of "senpai" had lead Rin to believe so, but when he had finally accepted that the voice was part of the Nitori experience and gotten over it, he had been proved otherwise. Since there was apparently nothing better to do on a Saturday eve he had stayed in, and Nitori had asked him if he could help him study. Truly proving that he had just as little of a life as Nitori himself, Rin had reluctantly agreed. And he had learnt that Nitori wasn't exactly stupid. He was downright intelligent.

Out of everything, he was absolutely best at memorizing. He could quote historical figures from across the globe, he remembered every important date since the Joumon period, and could recite everything from the names of obscure historical figures to old poetry. When Rin quizzed him on all of it, he would answer each question correctly, and then proceed to say "I think, I am not very good at this…"

It was after he recited a long poem of Outomo no Yakamochi which he knew from heart, for the exempt purpose of including bits of it in a paper and wondering if Rin thought that he should, that the shark themed teen could no longer take it.

"Stop saying you suck at this when you're some goddamned prodigy," he said in frustration. He was lying on his bed with his legs propped up, casting a side glance at Nitori, who was seated by the desk. It was their seventh time studying together under a three week period, and he had had enough.

"E-eh?" Nitori exclaimed like some common fool. Rin saw that he was blushing slightly, which seemed to be a habit of his as soon as Rin said something not completely self-centered. "But senpai, I am nowhere near-"

"I looked up your scores," Rin announced. "You're top in your class in almost every subject. Show some pride."

Nitori was blushing harder, and he fidgeted indignantly in his seat.

"No way," he mumbled. "It's mostly just luck…"

Rin groaned, and he got up from his bed at once, and walked over to the blushing fishie. With his hands on Nitori's shoulders, he stared directly into his roommate's eyes, glaring hard enough to make him gulp.

"You listen to me," Rin said. "It really pisses me off that you keep doing this to yourself. You're not stupid, you're not just lucky, and you're not bad at swimming either," not that the last part had anything to do with their current predicament, but Rin was on a roll. "Take some goddamn pride in that brain of yours instead. Feel good about yourself sometimes, for fuck's sake. Just stop your obnoxious self-loathing."

Maybe that last part wasn't the best thing to tell a person who was already struggling with his self-esteem and tied great importance to your words. Well, what had been said had been said, and there was no going back.

"S-senpai…" Nitori managed, for what else would he say? "Thank-you-very-much," he said hastily, and his wide eyes and tomato-red face told clearly of his absolutely horrified state of mind at Rin's proximity. But Rin decided not to back down until his words would actually get through to him.

"Show some pride," he repeated firmly. "Tell me you're not stupid."

"Uhm, I don't-"

"Nitori!" Rin shouted, at which his cheek-moled roommate yelped like a Makoto impersonator.

"Sorry!" he quickly replied. "I am not stupid."

"Say it like you mean it!"

"I am not stupid…!"

"Like you mean it, goddammit."

"I am not stupid!" Nitori yelled, though he sounded too scared to show any real pride in such a statement.

"You're intelligent," Rin told him roughly, through gritted teeth. "Tell me you're intelligent."

Nitori looked damn near ready to faint, but Rin was not about to let up.

"I don't know, I am-" Nitori stammered, but this time Rin only needed to lean a centimeter closer, and Nitori was yelling "I am intelligent!"

"Huh?!"

"I am intelligent!" Nitori yelled louder.

"And?!" Rin pressed him.

The short roommate of his pressed his eyes shut, as he frantically shouted: "I am not stupid, and I am not a bad swimmer, and I am intelligent and I am in love with you, senpai!"

Rin blinked. Nitori tried to squeeze his eyes shut even harder, but at least his face couldn't get any redder. The random confession took them both by surprise, but mostly since it had been stated aloud, rather than tiptoed around as usual. Now the elephant in the room was very much visible, and left both of them absolutely squashed under its size and weight.

Rin watched Nitori's quivering lips, and realized how hard he was squeezing the poor kid's shoulders. But if he moved, even if it only was to hurt him less, then reality would come crashing down, and they would have to talk about it.

He didn't want to talk about it. He would have been happy to ignore it. Nitori had somehow proven himself less annoying the more time Rin had spent with him. His concern and attention had been superfluous to a start, but Rin had gotten used to it, and somehow he had ended up feeling actually comfortable when it was just the two of them. For all of his kouhai-ing, Nitori was a good listener, and had an earnest quality which was absolutely rare, and borderline endearing. And somehow, he had proven that he was really good at understanding Rin's mood as well, and though it might only be due to the fact that he was probably stalking him from time to time, Rin had gotten really used to just leting him tag along everywhere.

So his feelings for Nitori were actually pretty positive. Though a Rin right back from Australia would say, "No fucking way," his current self knew that it was true, and found that he didn't mind it so much. Having a friend was much like he had remembered it. Nice.

But was it something more? He had thought it best to not think along those lines. Love would complicate everything, and besides, Nitori was much too sweet to be around someone like him. Not to mention, Rin had never gone out with anyone. Since he had been surrounded by nearly nude male bodies his entire life, it hadn't taken Rin long to understand that he might just be playing for the swim team, and that he was gay, but he had never had a boyfriend, or a fling even.

He broke the spell of silence as he sighed. Slowly, he removed his hands from Nitori's shoulders, and watched his terrified eyes slowly open.

"Senpai-" Nitori started, but Rin put his hand over his mouth to stop him.

"Shut up and listen," he said. Nitori nodded, so he removed his hand, and sighed again. And again, since it was a good way to fill the empty space between them. But with the fifth sigh in a row, he knew he was being ridiculous, and had to speak. "I don't date," he said firmly.

Nitori furrowed his eyebrows. "I know," he said. "I didn't mean to confess. I know someone as amazing as you would never be with someone like me."

Rin groaned. Since Nitori was such an honest, good natured little nuisance, Rin knew that he wasn't intentionally trying to make him feel bad, but it was annoying that Nitori was still devaluing himself so.

"It's not that," he gritted out, glaring at Nitori again and making the shouta-resembling teen squirm at their closeness again. "I said I don't date. Because I focus on swimming. It's not personal."

"B-but even so," Nitori said. "You said earlier that you wouldn't date me, even hypothetically…"

He was still hung up on that? On that stupid random conversation Mikoshiba had inserted himself in, when they had made Rin try to picture dating them? Nitori was still judging him based on that time, before he had started to think that Nitori wasn't too bad to hang out with?

"That was months ago," Rin said. He couldn't quite explain why he hadn't risen to his feet, or walked back to the bed yet. He just remained crouching before the desk chair, locking Nitori to his seat. "If we say hypothetically, fine, I don't think you'd be a bad choice. So stop it with your-"

"Re-really senpai?!" Nitori exclaimed as he broke out into the happiest smile Rin had ever seen. It was more sugary sweet than anything even Nagisa could make, and was enough to make Rin reel back. "You would date me?"

"Y-yeah," Rin said, caught off guard. "But don't get ideas. Just hypothetically," he reminded him, as he backed away from the chair. Even his best glare couldn't keep Nitori from advancing towards him, and soon his hands were snatched away from his sides as Nitori held them happily.

"Then, can we go on a hypothetical date? Please, senpai!"

Hadn't Rin just convinced the kid he wasn't stupid? So why was he acting like a moron?

"That makes no sense."

"No, it does!" Nitori retorted. "Uhm, it's like roleplay!"

Rin pulled his hands free, and he made a cross with them against his chest. "Absolutely not! I am never wearing a maid's uniform again!"

"No, that's not it-"

"No way in hell-"

"Please, senpai! I just really want to go on a date with you! Even if it's not real…"

Of course Nitori had adorable pilot fish eyes. Of course they were pure, and without any ill will. And of course they made Rin want to give in, despite his self-chosen dating celibacy.

Just when had this all happened? When had Nitori of all people become someone he considered giving in to?

"If," Rin accentuated. "I agree-", he paused, since already Nitori was looking like a five year old on his super expensive birthday party. He would probably regret this… but at the worst case scenario it would only be one date. He could do that. Probably. If only for Nitori's sake. "If I do that, then you'll agree to keep it silent. I don't want the entire swimming team to know, and I definitely don't want Gou, and-"

"-Nanase-san and the others to know," Nitori finished for him excitedly. "Yes! Of course, senpai!" He threw himself into Rin's arms, clinging like a koala to his chest. "Thank you! Senpai!" He buried his face against Rin's chest, and awkwardly, Rin realized that he might just have to touch him back. Yet he couldn't, and so he stood with his arms stretched to the side, a fitting letter "T".

For an intelligent boy, it sure took Nitori an awfully long time to realize that the hug was not reciprocated, to the point Rin started to wonder if the little top-bunk sleeper truly was as oblivious with emotional manipulation as he appeared.

Eventually, however, he detangled himself from Rin, with a blush which was either a confirmation of his innocence, or a madly skilled act. Since Rin already felt taken advantage of, he hoped it was the former.

And so it was that Rin set up a date with Nitori on the following Friday night, wondering how the hell it had happened.


End file.
